‘It was terrifying’: Women say they were let back into Freeport high-rise while shooter was still inside

FREEPORT, Ill. (WTVO) — “That was terrifying, to actually hear the shots, four floors down from him at 10:30 p.m. That was terrifying,” said Rhonda Borman, a resident of the Freeport apartment high-rise where a gunman barricaded himself on the 10th floor on Wednesday.

Police surrounded the Hosmer Apartments, at 601 N. Walnut Avenue, after a suspect, later identified as 52-year-old Grady Clark, barricaded himself inside and used a rifle to fire shots out the window .

Authorities said he also threw Molotov cocktails out of the window over the course of a 12-hour standoff.

Borman and Jennifer Keep have lived at the apartment complex for five years.

“We left to run some errands and we noticed that there were a couple of squad cars parked up here in the circle,” Keep said.

“We drove in front of the building and a guy was waving a handgun out of the 10th-floor building,” Borman recalled. “We came back about 2:30 p.m., and police had everything barricaded off.”

The women said they believed the threat was over when police escorted them back into the building at 8:30 p.m.

It was only later they learned Clark was still barricaded inside his apartment.

“When we finally found out that we could walk up to the building, it was terrifying afterward, when we found out that we walked directly into the line of fire. And then finding out once you’re in here and then you’re locked in your apartment and you’re by yourself, knowing that there’s somewhere in the building, there’s a shooter, and it’s terrifying,” Keep said.

Freeport Police Chief Chris Shenberger confirmed residents were escorted to their apartments during the standoff on a case-by-case basis.

“We had a lot of requests that were denied,” Shenberger said in a statement to Eyewitness News. “The escorts were approved by incident command and were only done if deemed safe and not in the top floors, which were secured by tactical officers on scene.”

Both women live on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and said that makes it difficult for them to move.

“We are looking, because this is becoming a very unsafe building to live in,” Borman said.

“Personally, I feel like I am stuck right now, given that this is a low-income housing building and I have low income. So, it’s kind of hard. You can’t just pick up and move. So, we’re stuck. Where do we go from here?” Keep added.

Clark surrendered to police around 10:30 p.m. Authorities said an AK-47 assault pistol, a SKS assault rifle, high-capacity magazines, a 100-round drum magazine, a cache of ammunition, and MDMA (Ecstasy), were found in his apartment.

He has been charged with Possession of a Weapon by a Felon and Reckless Discharge of a Firearm.

Ultimately, no one was injured in the incident.

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